After everything was settled, Xia Tian led the recruited refugees back to his territory.
Unlike the first day, there was no "Ghost Gryphon Night Flight" tonight.
Perhaps they understood the principle of not "draining the pond to catch all the fish," so they wouldn't continuously sweep the same area!
Therefore, the return journey was quite smooth.
Most of the jungle creatures chose to retreat when they saw a group of armed humans marching in a mighty procession.
There were a few that didn't retreat, such as a fifth-tier red giant softshell turtle, about the size of a millstone, which crawled out of some river and even stretched its head out to bite people's feet as they passed by.
So, it was immediately killed by Da Niu, who was leading the way, with a single blow from his wolf-tooth club. He planned to take it back to make soup for his old mother, who was still waiting for his safe return at the territory's entrance.
"Mom, it's the Lord!"
In fact, not only Da Niu's mother, but all the residents left in the territory were waiting.
Even the two children brought by the refugees, sleepy-eyed, waited at the edge of the territory for everyone to return. It wasn't until the light of the "Sun Gold Bottle" lit up in the distance, and they saw that everyone who had gone out had returned, that some people's hearts finally relaxed.
"The new twenty-plus people, in groups of three, should find a house to squeeze into for the night. Remember to cook some porridge for them to fill their stomachs; people who have been hungry for too long shouldn't eat meat directly."
Although the "residential houses" in the territory's attribute panel were planned to house ten people, this was not a game but a real world. Even if a hundred people squeezed into one house, there would be no problem.
Additionally, the climate and temperature in the jungle were quite good. Nothing happened when the second batch of refugees spent the night in the cave yesterday, so they could just sleep on the floor for tonight.
Tomorrow, they would arrange for people to build houses.
Of course, blue-tier talents could still enjoy preferential treatment. Wu Song's family of three still had space in their house, so Xia Tian let Shen Lian and his wife, along with Qing Wen, temporarily move in.
"The first batch had seventy-three people, and the second batch had twenty-three, totaling ninety-six people."
After everything was settled, Xia Tian returned to the Lord's Mansion and first checked the population.
"So, there are still four fewer people than summoned?
This was obviously unavoidable. After all, it was a dangerous jungle. If it weren't for the fact that these two batches of refugees happened to have Wu Song in one and Shen Lian in the other to provide protection.
By the time the refugees reached his territory, it would be considered quite good if two-thirds of them remained.
"I wonder what the situation is like in other territories?"
Xia Tian glanced at the chat channel.
"I was really wrong. I shouldn't have chosen the 'Benevolent Invincible' talent. The initial food in the warehouse was only a thousand portions, and it was eaten up by the refugees in just two days. Now there are still refugees outside the territory, blocking the door and begging me to take them in. It's a nightmare, I can't afford to feed them!"
Seeing the first message, Xia Tian couldn't help but complain.
Pfft! How can the gap between people be so huge?
"I chose the 'Mountains and Rivers Within' Lord's talent, which can change the terrain and environment of the territory. But I used up all the free uses halfway through, and the territory's luck was insufficient. Now the Lord's Mansion is buried in the middle of a lake, and people can't get out. What should I do?"
"Question, what are 'metamorphosis' attribute creatures?"
"I appointed all the refugees as generals, and they were all so excited, shouting 'Long live me!' and wanting to assist me in becoming emperor. Public support instantly maxed out. Haha, so funny!"
The messages in the regional channel didn't seem to have decreased compared to yesterday.
After all, most lords probably didn't dare to leave the protective shield, so the chance of encountering life-threatening danger was not high.
And after two days of adaptation, realizing that their personal safety was indeed secure, some people had already started to have fun.
For example, after recruiting refugees, some people happily formed a "harem group" in their territory, making grand promises to the refugees, bestowing titles like "generals, concubines, and noble ladies," and then posting the refugees' reactions in the chat channel to show off!
"Are some people really treating this as a game?"
Xia Tian frowned slightly.
He found that the chat quality tonight seemed low, with not much useful information.
"Attention, attention, a bloody lesson!"
"As long as you gather 100 population and 1000 luck points, you can trigger the territory upgrade option, but absolutely do not upgrade casually. Because once upgraded, a 'fire of luck' will form, making people within a certain range around the territory aware of the existence of the sanctuary.
"But not only humans can notice it, alien race can also notice it. My territory is currently under attack by several alien race. I'm sending this message to ask for help... Whose territory is by a large river? If you march upstream or downstream along the river and send troops to save me, I, Ace, am willing to pay any price!"
Finally, a message caught Xia Tian's attention.
It was only the second day, and someone had already "upgraded" their territory?
However, judging from these upgrade conditions, it wasn't too difficult. You only needed to recruit two talented individuals with good potential, or subdue two or three subordinate alien race, which should satisfy the 1000 luck requirement. As for a hundred population, it would be even easier for those with a good starting location.
Not to mention that every lord had a "divine talent," so it was reasonable for someone to upgrade their territory on the second day.
It's just that, after upgrading, there were no benefits, but rather drawbacks?
Inside the Lord's Mansion, Xia Tian frowned slightly.
"Heh heh, buddy, that trick is too outdated, isn't it? You upgraded your territory and found great benefits, and to prevent us from competing with you and gaining an advantage, you're deliberately saying this, right? Don't worry, I'll choose to upgrade immediately to expose your conspiracy... Holy crap, it's actually true! I'm screwed, there's a creature with the 'metamorphosis' attribute around my territory, and I can't defeat it at all."
"Are you two putting on a double act? Do you think I'll believe it... Damn... Ahem, everyone rest assured, these two guys are indeed lying. There are benefits after upgrading the territory; you can get a talent recruitment scroll. I swear I'm not lying to you. Really, if I'm lying, I'm not from the Three-Star Nation!"
Interesting, how much truth and how much falsehood was in the words of these three people?
After reading this, Xia Tian didn't continue.
After all, his territory currently only had ninety-seven people, still lacking three to reach one hundred, so even if he wanted to upgrade, he couldn't.
So, it was better to wash up and go to bed early, and see if there was a chance tomorrow to recruit a few more residents for the territory... The next day, early morning.
Bang!
In the training ground, Xia Tian's figure moved like a leaping rabbit and a swooping falcon.
A flying kick with his right foot struck the wet, newly made wooden stake serving as a target.
Crack.
A visible crack appeared in the wet wooden stake, at the equivalent of a human's chest.
Then, Xia Tian's body twisted and spun, delivering a second consecutive kick, as fierce as a gale, as swift as a galloping horse.
With a "boom."
The wooden stake completely snapped, its upper half flying seven or eight meters through the air, hitting the wall at the edge of the training ground and shaking violently!
【You have mastered the skill "Jade Ring Step, Mandarin Duck Leg."】
"Haha, I finally did it."
Xia Tian's face showed surprise as he looked at his attributes.
【Xia Tian (Green)】
【Level】Seven-tier
【Physique】5.5
【Soul】4.9
【Trait】Knowledgeable and Perceptive
【Skills】Five Animal Play (Expert), Jade Ring Step, Mandarin Duck Leg (Proficient)
Thanks to the Grandmaster-level experience and further improvement in physique, Xia Tian's actual mastery of the "Five Animal Play" had reached the expert level.
And under Wu Song's guidance, the unique skill "Jade Ring Step, Mandarin Duck Leg" was also mastered. With these two skills, Xia Tian felt that if he were on Earth before, he would be able to kick all those people with "red belts and black belts" into oblivion, one kick at a time.
After all, what he had just kicked apart was a genuine tree stump from the primeval jungle, not the kind of crushed composite board used in boxing performances that the Eternal Land rated as "white" quality.
"Now, even without the divine arm crossbow, I should have a certain degree of self-preservation ability."
Xia Tian assessed in his mind.
Of course, the prerequisite was not to encounter existences like Wu Song, whose attributes included the word "metamorphosis," and who could instantly kill a seven-tier half-orc leader.